Millions of surgeries and invasive diagnostic procedures are performed in the United States every year. Most, if not all, of these surgeries and procedures involve the use of some form of anesthesia or sedation. In some cases, general anesthesia is used that renders the patient unconscious. Generally, before and/or during such surgeries, a doctor (an “anesthesiologist” or an “oral surgeon”) and/or Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist) administers the anesthetics and monitors the patient while the patient is under anesthesia or sedation.
The job of the anesthesiologist or anesthetist is not a simple one. With modern anesthesia, a wide variety of medical equipment may be used. Anesthesia practitioners must possess a comprehensive and intricate knowledge of the use of various medical gases, anesthetic agents and vapors, medical breathing circuits and the variety of anesthetic machines (e.g., vaporizers, ventilators and pressure gauges) and their corresponding safety features, hazards and limitations. Moreover, a patient being treated under general anesthetics must be monitored continuously to ensure the patient's safety. For minor surgery, this generally includes monitoring of things such as heart rate, oxygen saturation, non-invasive blood pressure, inspired and expired gases (for oxygen, carbon dioxide, nitrous oxide, and volatile agents). For moderate to major surgery, monitoring may also include temperature, urine output, invasive blood pressure measurements, pulmonary artery pressure and pulmonary artery occlusion pressure, cerebral activity, neuromuscular function, and cardiac output. The various pieces of equipment and considerations can keep an anesthesiologist or anesthetist quite occupied before, during and after a surgical procedure.
Not surprisingly, an important consideration while a patient is under sedation or general anesthesia is insuring the patient can breathe properly. In some instances physically invasive methods, such as the insertion of tubes, are required. It has been shown, however, that positioning of the patient plays a role in ensuring the patient can breathe properly. For example, placing and keeping a patient in certain positions (e.g., the “sniffing” position) helps to ensure that a patient's airways is not obstructed. Thus, positioning of the patient is another condition that an anesthesiologist or anesthetist may need to monitor during a procedure. Therefore a method or device that aids the placing of a patient in a position that facilitates breathing and/or maintains the patient in that position during a procedure may ease the burden on an attending anesthesia practitioner before, during and after a surgical or similar procedure. Such a method or device may have broad applications in medicine and dentistry, including any situation where a patient is unconscious and/or immobilized whether or not that patient is under anesthesia.